The Broken, the Beaten and the Damned
by Azrael22
Summary: Harry and Ron are off to destroy the Horcruxes, leaving Hermione to defend Hogwarts. Hermione and Draco meet in the summer and then go back to a school now ruled by Snape and the Death Eaters. Hermione will soon realise that maybe Draco isn't as loyal to Voldemort as everyone seems to think. CONTEXT: The story take place after the events of the sixth book.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"We need someone inside, Hermione"

"You won't survive without me"

"We might. Hogwarts won't."

They had a point. Or so Hermione thought when she agreed to stay behind. Now that she was alone, nearly a week from September 1st, the idea sounded a bit silly. As if Harry and Ron wanted to get rid of her. "No", she said to herself, "don't think like that. They care about you; they just want their best girl on the front line in the battle for Hogwarts's life and soul."

She sighed and looked outside by the window. It was a shitty, rainy day.

Short after Dumbledore died, Snape was named head master. Now Hogwarts was mandatory for every students of Great-Britain. Of course, nearly every wizard of Great-Britain chose Hogwarts as their school, but now that it was mandatory, nearly every wizard hesitated. It just sounded wrong. Harry and Ron were going to be outlaws in two weeks because they would not go back. Also, racism was back in its very worse shape. Mudblood were bullied once again. Hermione shivered at the thought of what they might do to her at a school ruled by racist pure-blood. At least, most of her teachers were still there. Hermione couldn't see Professor McGonagall let any of her students mistreated for the non-purity of their blood. But then again, Professor McGonagall was no longer in charge of anything at Hogwarts.

Hermione was so lost in her thought that it took her a while to realize what she was looking at. Right in front of her, across the street, somebody was moving in. Curiosity kicked in, and she stood up, grabbing an umbrella as she hurried outside. The rain kept her from seeing much but as she drew closer, she saw a man and a woman moving boxes. She reached the sidewalk when she stopped abruptly. "No, no, no, no" she thought. She was about to turn around and run inside before her new neighbors could see her, but it was too late and the man had already looked in her direction.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" said Malfoy's voice loud enough for Hermione to hear it.

Hearing her son, Malfoy's mother raised her head and saw Hermione as well. She frowned and said something to her son, but too quietly for Hermione to hear it.

"Hi", said Hermione.

The Malfoys didn't answer her. They both just looked at her as if she was a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Hermione had to force herself not to run back inside. Once inside, Hermione locked the door behind her. Illogically, she felt safer. She had never been so happy to go back to an empty house since her parents left. At least, if the Malfoys decided that Hermione was something to take care of, there would be no casualty.

Quickly, she went back to the window and watched the Malfoys bring all the boxes in. "But why the hell was Malfoy moving anyway?" Hermione thought. "Didn't they own a manor?" She stayed by that window, long after the Malfoys had finished unpacking and went inside. She kept wondering: Does this mean the Malfoys are done with Voldemort? Are trying to hide from him?

A movement outside her window interrupted her thoughts. Narcissa was heading out. Hermione watched as she sat in the driver's seat and left the hallway. Hermione stood still for a full minute, a battling with herself. Finally, she got up quickly and, without even taking her umbrella, went outside. She had crossed the streets when she stopped. "It's a terrible idea" she thought. But at the same time, Malfoy's pale face appeared at the window and Hermione knew she was trapped. She reached the door and rang the bell. After ten seconds of waiting, Hermione slammed on the door with her fist.

"Open the door, Malfoy" she shouted.

Another ten seconds. She was about to shout again when the door opened abruptly.

"And why would I do that Granger, uh?" Malfoy said in a cold voice.

"Just hear me out…"

"Why?" he hissed. "Are you looking to send another of my family member in jail?"

Hermione frowned.

"You father is a Death Eater!" Hermione hissed back. "He was literally sent to jail because he was trying to kill me and my friends!"

Malfoy seemed very unimpressed by her defense and gave Hermione a cold look.

"Yeah, well, the result is the same. I'm moving into this stupid little house, surrounded by muggles and Mudblood because all my family's money is being spend in lawyers. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go back inside and pretend you don't exist."

He was about to shut the door when Hermione used her foot to stop it. Draco drew his wand out.

"Granger, I swear to God…" he started.

"Are you going back to Hogwarts?" interrupted Hermione.

"Why do you care?" asked Malfoy.

"Just answer the question"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes and stared suspiciously at Hermione, like there was some kind of trap in the question. After he couldn't find one he crossed his arms and answered a very suspicious "Yeah".

"And are you still on Voldemort's side?" asked Hermione.

Malfoy uncrossed his arms and looked scarily at the empty street. It was so unexpected that Hermione imitated him.

"Come inside, quickly" nervously said Malfoy.

She was so surprised by his request that she obeyed without thinking. The warmth inside the house agreed with Hermione who was completely wet from the rain. She rubbed her hands together and opened her mouth to ask another questions but Malfoy stopped her. He grabbed her arm and quickly moved her deeper into the house.

"The V word is jinxed. I mean…" he stopped walking abruptly and shook his head, "not that V word… you know what I mean"

"Wait, what?" asked Hermione. "What do you mean?"

They had arrived in front of a closet. Hermione, who could think clearly again, freed herself from Malfoy's grip and looked at him with severity.

"I mean", answered Malfoy, "that this place will be crawling with death eater in about thirty seconds. If I were you, I'd go in that closet and shut up."

Malfoy opened the door and stared at Hermione.

"Wait, what?" repeated Hermione. "Why would you protect me? How do I know this is not a trap and you're not gonna call for back up and have me killed?"

Someone knocked at the door. They both looked at the door, then at each other, with panic in their eyes.

"Because", Malfoy said quickly and quietly, "to answer your question, I'm no longer on You-Know-Who's side."

Without another word, he pushed Hermione in the closet, shut the door behind her and walked to the door with apprehension. His finger hesitated one more second above the door handle, second he used to calm himself, and then opened the door on Greyback and two random guys. At the sight of him, Greyback took a step back.

"Draco", he said in a clearly surprised tone, "what the hell are you doing here?"

Greyback looked at his two henchmen to see if any of them had an answer but quickly turned his face back to Malfoy.

"I just moved here with my mum", said Malfoy in a bored tone. "Lawyers are more expensive that you may think these days."

Greyback was still frowning so Malfoy continued.

"Sorry about You-Know-Who's name and all. I was thinking out loud"

Greyback's lips twitched.

"You were thinking out loud?" he sounded amused, but also condescending which annoyed Malfoy very much. "Where's your mother, kid?"

"Out", answered Malfoy in a harsh voice.

They both stared at each other, Malfoy with annoyance and Greyback with an inch of suspicion, until one of Greyback's henchmen sighed loudly.

"Can we go now, Greyback?" he said with extreme boredom. "I don't think Draco is a member of the Order of Phoenix. Do you?"

The question seemed to wake up Greyback and she shook his head like a wild dog.

"Of course not", said Greyback, "see you later, kid."

"Right", answered Malfoy before slamming the door in their faces.

He stood there, breathing heavily for a couple of seconds.

"What did I do?" he whispered to himself.

He was dead mad at Voldemort for everything that had happened with his father, Dumbledore and Snape, but lying? To protect some Mudblood? And above all, Granger?

Malfoy heard a sound behind him and turned his head quickly. The closet door was open and Hermione was staring at him.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco looked down. Hermione still looked suspicious.

"Why did you do that?" she asked.

"I told you", Draco said, "I'm not fighting for You-Know-Who anymore"

Hermione crossed her arms and frowned, she looked like she didn't believe a word.

"And yet you're going back to Hogwarts", she said, "whereit's crawling with You-Know-Who's allies."

Draco looked up and met Hermione's eyes, full of questions and disbelief, yet so clear and honest.

"Of course I'm not", he answered coldly. "I lied. I'm never going back to Hogwarts. I was packing when you knocked."

Hermione uncrossed her arms. She looked surprise, which made Malfoy angry for some reason.

"And by the way, all the things I did last year", he said harshly, "I did them to protect my family! Is there anything you wouldn't do for your family?"

Hermione snorted, the surprise was gone from her face.

"Yeah I can think of a few things!" she snapped. "Like murder attempt!"

Draco sighed and covered his eyes with his hands.

"You… you don't know… what it's like… you don't…" he sighed, and when he let his hands down, Draco's old arrogant face was back. "Just get out, Granger!"

But Hermione didn't move. She stood right there, in the empty living room full of boxes.

"Thank you, Draco"

It was Draco's turn to be surprise.

"If it weren't for you I'd be dead", Hermione continued. "I don't know why you did it but thank you."

Draco looked tired. He rubbed his forehead and sigh.

"It was a huge mistake", he said. "Don't count on me to save your ass next time".

Hermione smiled.

"I knew a guy who could befriend Moaning Myrtle couldn't be that bad."

Draco froze, but before he could do or say anything Hermione walked to the front door.

"I'll see you around, Malfoy," she said.

Malfoy watched her hair disappear as she closed the door. "What did I do", he repeated to himself. He rubbed his hands against his forehead again. To his very surprise, he didn't find Granger as half as annoying as she was with Potter and Weasley. But befriend her? That was above what he could do. Tolerate her, maybe. "And you don't let people you tolerate get murdered", he thought.

"Right?"

He sighed again and went back to his room. His mum was going back at their old manor to make sure everything was alright and by the time she'd be back, he'd be long gone.

He never wanted to be used again like he was used the year before. And being at Hogwarts meant exactly that. To Draco, it was all Snape's fault and he couldn't bare an entire year of being his puppet, just like Snape was Voldemort's.

He had been raised to praise power, to search for it and acquire it. Today, power was the last thing he cared about. Today, power was the last thing his family cared about. Because power comes with a price and often that price is too high.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Draco stopped packing and raised his head. "I swear to God if it's that damn Greyback I'll knock his furry ass back to wolf land" he thought angrily as he walked to the door. Draco swung the door wide open and opened his mouth to shout at Greyback, but it wasn't him at all.

It was Hermione. Again, she didn't have an umbrella and she was completely wet.

"What again, Granger?" Malfoy said. "I don't care if Greyback is back, just deal with it…"

"No, it's not that." Hermione interrupted. "I think you should go back to Hogwarts."

"What?" Malfoy was completely stunned.

"We could definitely need an ally inside", said Hermione really fast as if she didn't want him to understand her.

"We? You're not talking about Dumbledore's army, are you?" Malfoy almost shouted. He ran his finger through his hair and laugh without humor. "You can't be serious Granger! You want me to ally with a bunch of Mudblood and Muggles lovers!"

To Draco's surprise, Hermione pushed him. So hard that Draco had to took a step back. She followed him inside the house and raised her hand as if she was gonna slap him. Draco took another step back at the sight of Hermione's hand, not wanting not to be slapped again by her.

"You selfish idiotic, racist, bastard!" She shouted. "How about you do the right thing for once in your life! You say that you would do anything for your family but apparently that excludes fighting for their safety, their freedom, their lives!"

Draco took a step forward, shaking with rage. There was only a few centimeter between their faces.

"I'm not gonna die for a dead man, Granger!" he shouted back. "Dumbledore is dead and without him, that little army of yours can't do anything against You-Know-Who! Don't you get it, Granger? If you go against him, you're gonna die, at best, and so will everyone you ever cared about! That's the problem with you Gryffindors; you never know when you lost the battle!"

Hermione pushed him again, but this time Draco expected it and didn't back off an inch.

"WE'RE FIGHTING A WAR. NEVERMIND THE BATTLE!" shouted Hermione.

"IS THIS WAR WORTH EVERYTHING YOU EVER CARED ABOUT? YOUR LIFE? YOUR PARENT'S MEMORY OF YOU?"

Hermione took a step back and looked at Draco as if he had just slapped him. "Good", he thought, "maybe now she'll understand".

Hermione looked down. When she rose her head back up again, her eyes were full of tears which made Malfoy froze.

"I've already sacrificed my parent's memory of me," Hermione said in a very quiet voice. "They don't remember me."

They both stood still for a while and looked at each other. Then, without warning, Hermione started to hit Draco in the chest.

"YES, THIS WAR IS WORTH EVERYTHING I EVER CARED ABOUT!" she shouted. Her cheeks were full of tears now.

Draco grabbed her fists.

"It's ok, it's ok", he said.

"No it's not", she snapped back. "If we don't fight, we lose everything to You-Know-Who. But if we fight, we lose everything still."

Draco was still grabbing her fists and was watching her crying with terror in his eyes. He had no idea what to do.

"My parents are gone," continued Hermione, "Harry and Ron are gone…"

Hermione sobbed again and Draco started to pat awkwardly her head.

"But there's one thing that isn't gone", he said, "your freedom."

Hermione stopped sobbing and looked up to Malfoy with astonishment in her eyes.

"If you don't fight, you lose your freedom to You-Know-Who. But if you fight, you'll always be free."

"Then why won't you fight?" Hermione asked.

Draco let go of her fists.

"I've already lost my freedom", he said sadly. "I'm running to find it, miles from here."

Hermione sighed deeply and wiped her cheeks. Then she looked up a Draco and smiled sadly.

"That's funny", she said. "Someone just told me that if you fight, you'll always be free. Why don't you go look for your freedom right in the battlefield?"

Draco's mouth twitched and he snorted.

"I gotta give it to you; you're a clever girl, Granger." He sighed. "Listen, even if I go back to Hogwarts, I won't be able to fight; I'll be busy being used as a damn puppet by Snape. And if miraculously I'm not, I'm not going to join some stupid high school rebellious crew."

Hermione's eyes were still red, but sadness had left her face, replaced by anger. She squinted at him.

"We can give hope and fight the system", she hissed. "Right now that's exactly what the people at Hogwarts need."

Without letting Draco say another word, Hermione stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Draco sighed, his fingers were running through his hairs again. "Damn it, Granger…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hermione closed the door of her home behind her. Her eyes were still red, but she was way past sadness. First thing she felt, shock. What had gotten into her? She had felt so scared in that closet that Malfoy had seemed like a white knight. "What a joke", she thought, "my white knight is working for the greatest dark night himself".

Or was he?

Hermione felt very lost and confused after Malfoy saved her. For a second, she took him for some kind of savior, turning his back on the darkness and Voldemort. For a second, she thought that having him at Hogwarts would be the best idea on Earth. Not only he could provide information from the inside, he would be one less enemy to fight against.

But he didn't want to fight.

"He's a coward. A Slytherin."

But after his little speech, Hermione doubted that. Freedom. He talked about freedom and, somehow, he made sense. He made Hermione collapsed.

But then the illusion fade away and Malfoy was again too good for any of them.

Hermione felt very sad and very tired all of the sudden. She missed Harry and Ron and letting their go on their quest alone had never felt this much like a bad idea than at this very moment. She sighed and, without looking back, went to sleep.

Across the street, the Malfoy was really not in the mood for sleeping.

He kept packing and unpacking his trunk. At some point he stopped, half of his stuff still in the trunk and started to walk nervously around his bedroom. Why did he protected Granger from Greyback? Why did he comfort her when she started crying? Could he care about her? Could he care about Granger? And what on earth would that even mean? All he knew is that he didn't wanted her to die.

At that realization, Draco stopped walking and looked nervously by the window. Hermione's house was quiet and there were no lights on.

That was silly, in Draco's mind. He never gave a damn about Granger, yet, the recent event had him reconsider his opinion on what she was fighting for.

He looked outside the window again, the rain had stopped. With a sigh, Draco unpacked his trunk and went to bed.

They didn't meet up again until August 31. Hermione because she thought that she was done with Malfoy and that all had been said and Draco because he was too proud to go knocking at her door. He was decided to stumble upon her.

In the morning of August 31, Draco woke up early. His room was starting to look like an actual bedroom and not a storehouse, with everything he had unpacked. He got up and knew that if he wanted to talk to Hermione, today was his last shot. He put his shirt on and looked by the window. As if Hermione had heard his thoughts, the door of her house opened and she walked to the mailbox to go fetch the muggle's newspaper.

Draco rushed out of his house, silently glad his mother was still asleep, and called out for Hermione.

"Hey, Granger!"

Hermione, who was on her way back home, turned slowly towards him.

"What is it, Malfoy?"

He was now standing next to her and felt very intimidated by her for a second. She was wearing this large pajama that seemed to belong to her dad and her hairs were even more a mess than usual.

"Listen", Draco said, "I just wanted to apologize."

Hermione's eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"I didn't mean to insult what you're fighting for", he continued, "I just had no reason to fight as well for a very long time."

Hermione's mouth opened, but she let Draco finished.

"I don't know if you'll be able to accomplish anything with Dumbledore's Army, but you're very right to try. What happened in June… what happened last year… I… I need to make amends. I was fighting for the wrong side trying to do the right thing and it broke me."

Hermione closed her eyes, her face still lift towards Draco. She sighed deeply and when she opened her eyes again, Draco saw empathy in them, but also strength.

"I'm broken, Hermione", Draco said sadly. "And even I can't pick up the pieces. But I will try to do the right thing."

Hermione's mouth twitched in a very small smile.

"So you're coming back to Hogwarts?" she asked.

"I am", Draco answered.

"I will see you there, then"

Draco smiled too.

"How are you going to King Cross?" he asked. "Do you have a car?"

"No, I'll walk"

Draco and Hermione stared at each other for a little while when suddenly Draco started to move back to his house.

"Pick you up at ten, Granger!"

Hermione bit her lips to restrain a smile and went back into her house. That was really not how she had expected her morning to go. For some reason, she was happy. She sat down at her kitchen table, looking but not seeing the newspaper in front of her. For a second there, she allowed herself to think that maybe Draco wasn't that bad without her father's influence and the constant threat on his family's life. He did saved her life, after all. But she shook her head and forced herself to remember every terrible thing he had done to Harry, Ron, Hagrid, Neville… herself.

Draco Malfoy was not a good person. Maybe, just maybe, he was on the redemption road, but it was going to be a very long trip. He had much to be forgiven for.

At least he _wanted _to make amends, to become as good as he could, that was something.

Hermione stopped to think, was she a fool to believe in Draco's redemption? Could all of this be a façade? But for the moment, she realized, it did not matter whether or not he was sincere, what mattered is that he could be a very powerful ally, willingly or not. And Hermione would not let that golden opportunity go.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"'Pick you up at ten, Granger'… what the hell was I thinking?" Draco muttered to himself. He was walking around in his bedroom, too agitated to sit down. He ran his finger through his hair and sighed dramatically.

First of all, what was he going to say to his mother? She was definitely going to see it. The best idea was just to not say anything to her, and then when she'd seen Hermione go in the car, just drove off to King Cross. She was definitely not gonna run after him screaming… Or at least there was a very slight chance she would.

Second of all, "pick you up"? She literally lived across the street. What was he gonna do? A U-turn?

Draco sighed dramatically again. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but for some reason, he was also feeling a bit excited at the promise of a ten minutes car ride with Hermione. At the moment, it had just sounded appropriate to offer her a car ride. He did had just told her that he was trying to make amends. "I mean, offering a car ride was just a good way to start" he thought. The real problem would be the arrival, truly. Were they gonna walk in together? Will Hermione expect them to be friends now? Were they? Did he wanted to?

But more importantly, what about Snape? What about Voldemort?

They would definitely not be pleased.

"Which is a good thing", Draco reminded himself. But he was very scared. Walking in with the most detested mudblood of them all would definitely have terrible consequences. "Again", he thought, "if I want to make amends, I need to start somewhere."

"I need to piss them off."

Draco shook his head, stopped walking and finished packing his trunk for the next day.

The next day, Hermione woke up at 6am, as promptly and completely as if someone had shouted in her ear. "Today is the day _Draco Malfoy_ is gonna give me a ride to King Cross" she thought nervously.

Technically, a car ride was nothing. In the last week, she had hidden in his closet while he was protecting her from Greyback, cried in front of him and he had seen her in her pj. A car ride should definitely feels like nothing. Yet, Hermione was feeling very nervous.

She rose off her bed quickly and looked around nervously. She had finished packing the night before and the outfit she was gonna wear was sitting on her desk chair. She had four hours to kill.

She went downstairs to make coffee and went outside to fetch the newspaper. She stared at the Malfoy's house all the way to the mailbox but there was no movement inside. Nor him, or his mother were up. Did his mother knew Malfoy was driving her to the train station? Hermione hoped not because Narcissa was really intimidating and hated Hermione very much.

Hermione went inside. Once she had finished her coffee, she went up to get ready and, before she knew it, it was 10am.

There was a honk outside and Hermione got out of her house, rolling her trunk behind her. Malfoy helped her shoved it in the back seat.

Draco sat up back in the driver's seat quickly, looking nervously at the window of his house. Before sitting next to him, Hermione glanced as well. Narcissa was watching them and even from this distance she could see that she did not look please. Hermione hurried in sitting down and the second she closed the car door, Draco was starting the car.

"I take your mother is still angry at me" asked Hermione as she buckled her seatbelt.

"And I don't think this is going to change in a near future" he answered.

They had entered the highway and Draco slowed the car a little. He glanced sideway at Hermione and couldn't help but noticed she looked uncomfortable. He felt uncomfortable too, now that he was thinking about it. Draco cleared his throat and broke the silence.

"Are you scared of going back to Hogwarts?" he asked. "Now with all the anti-mud… anti-muggleborn policy?"

He saw Hermione's mouth twitched and felt relieved he corrected himself before saying mudblood. Again, that was new to him. For some reason, he didn't feel like Hermione's blood was muddy.

"Of course", Hermione said. "But I'm not gonna do nothing about it. I will stand"

Draco made an irritated movement of hand.

"Don't be too brave, Granger", he said, "you've got nothing to prove. Don't… put yourself in big dangers for the sake of making a point."

Hermione too was irritated now.

"Don't be afraid of what we can do, Malfoy", she snapped. "You're just scared I'm gonna mess Snape's plan and actually make a difference!"

Draco laughed without humor.

"That is definitely not what I'm concerned about."

Hermione crossed her arms.

"What the hell is this supposes to mean?"

Draco glanced at her and met her furious eyes.

"I mean", he answered, " that I don't give a damn about Snape and you messing his plans could only improve my day."

Draco felt Hermione relaxed next to him.

"Then why do you care if I put myself in big dangers?" she asked.

Draco closed his eyes for a second and then shook his head.

"You're right", he answered. "I don't care."

Neither of them spoke another word as Draco drove them to King Cross. The rare times Draco allowed himself to look at Hermione, she'd looked sad.

He sighed silently and closed his eyes again as he was waiting at a red light. He felt stupid.

A couple of minutes later, Draco parked the car and looked at the train station with apprehension.

"Here it begins" he said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Everybody was staring. And by everybody, they meant everybody. Hermione could see Neville and Luna looking at her and Draco with incredibility. Judgment, even. Well, from Neville. Hermione didn't think Luna was capable of judgment.

Both Hermione and Draco stopped walking as they entered Platform 9 ¾. They both stood there, side-by-side, and very awkwardly. Draco, especially. Hermione notices that he looked almost scared when she turned her face toward his.

"I'll see you later", he said before leaving her.

Hermione couldn't be mad at him for leaving because she was herself about to do the same thing. She cleared her throat, raised her head, and walked toward Neville and Luna. Ginny hadn't arrived yet, thank god. Hermione felt that her glare would have been worse than Neville's. Luna only looked surprise, as she usually did.

"I see you have met my new neighbor!" Hermione said, trying to break the ice.

Neville snorted. Not amused.

"Are you serious, Hermione?" he almost shouted. "What are you doing?"

But then his eyes widened and he bent toward Hermione, realization in his eyes.

"Is this your mission?" he whispered to her. "Get close to Malfoy while Harry and Ron try to get close to You-Know-Who?"

Hermione looked behind her, trying to see Malfoy. As she found him, his eyes locked on hers. She opened her mouth to answer to Neville, still looking at Malfoy, but someone blew a whistle.

"We should get settled in the train", Hermione said instead.

She hadn't answer him, but Neville was so convinced he was right that he did not look at Hermione with judgment the whole way to an empty compartment. He started speaking the moment Ginny walked in.

"I think it's a great plan", Neville said.

"It's not my plan", answered quietly Hermione.

"What?", Neville said, half shouting again.

"What's going on?", Ginny said, sitting down.

Neville looked at Luna for support, but Luna didn't look remotely interested in the matter ans was looking by the window. Neville turned to Ginny.

"She walked in with _Malfoy_!", he said.

"What?", said Ginny, with more surprise than anger. "Why? Did he threatened you or something?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No, not at all. He offered a car ride and I said yes."

"And why would you do that exactly?" asked Ginny.

Again she didn't sound angry, more like if suspected there was more to it than catches the eye. Hermione stared to speak quickly, telling them everything.

"He saved your life?" said Neville one Hermione had finished talking. "Well that just erases about everything. How about you ask him to come over here so we could all talk about how we forgive him for almost killing everyone we know last year."

Hermione sighed with annoyance without daring to look at Ginny.

"It's not like that", she said. "It's not about forgiveness, it's about him switching side and being a wonderful asset to us all."

Ginny opened her mouth to talk and Hermione couldn't stop herself from looking at her.

"So that's all he is to you?" Ginny asked. "An asset?"

"Yes" Hermione answered. "Of course!"

Neville leaned back on his seat.

"I still don't think anyone should go near Malfoy" said Neville.

"Right", said Hermione, annoyed for some reason, "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back."

Draco was sitting beside Crabbe and Notts was facing him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Notts said. "Nor Snape, nor our master will be pleased about that! They'll be mad as hell at you!"

"Maybe that was the point!" Malfoy snapped back. "Maybe I'm not pleased about them either!"

Notts's eyes widened.

"So, that's why you showed up with that mudblood! Well, that was stupid, Malfoy. You'll be the one facing the consequences, not them."

Malfoy snorted.

"I don't care, as long as they know I'm angry at them."

Crabbe sighed.

"Yeah, but I mean… Granger?" he said. "Was it worth dirtying your car with her filthy…?"

"She didn't…" interrupted Malfoy, annoyed, but before he could speak his mind, there was a loud noise in the corridor. The three boys rose off their seats and went to take a look outside.

In the corridor was Goyle and – Draco took a deep breath and his eyes widened – Hermione. What she was doing there mattered not to Draco as he was more concerned by the blood coming out of her mouth. Before Draco could stop himself he shouted:

"What the hell are you doing!?"

Goyle looked at him with surprise, frowning.

"Now that Dumbledore is death and Snape is in charge", Goyle said, "there's no one left to stop us from cleaning this world of these filthy mudblood…"

Before he could finish talking, Hermione raised her head and spat in his face, a great of blood mixing her saliva. The four boys stood there, in shock.

"You've got mud on your face", Hermione said.

It took everybody about ten seconds to assimilate the situation. Draco himself didn't know he was suppose to punch Goyle, or Hermione or just shout "You big disgrace". Finally, he just stared at Hermione. She had the same expression from the day she had slapped him. Goyle slowly raised a hand to wipe his face. He was shaking from anger. Draco wondered why Hermione hadn't jinxed him yet, but he figured that her hand was probably still in her compartment with the rest of her stuff.

"Hermione, just go", Draco said, barely able to keep a straight voice.

They all stared at him. As the boys looked at him with disbelief, Hermione's expression was difficult to read.

"Oh, she's not going anywhere", said Goyle in a smooth, scary voice.

As Draco was about to step in, Neville and Ginny arrived. They both had their wands out.

"Is everything all right here?" asked Neville.

Without answering, Hermione backed away in Neville and Ginny's direction and left. After a moment, the two of them followed her, leaving the four boys standing in the corridor.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"JUST GO?!" Goyle shouted at Malfoy. "HERMIONE?" he added as if the name itself was an insult. "What the hell, Malfoy? Did she gave you syphilis or something?"

Malfoy raised his head.

"What?"

"Yeah, you know some made up disease that only her can cure and shit…"

Notts slapped the back of his head.

"That's not what it means you bloody idiot"

Notts sighed and turned his head back to Malfoy.

"Wow", he said with sarcasm. "You really want to piss Snape off, do you."

Crabbe shook his head and leaned in Malfoy's direction.

"Don't be a moron", he said, "no girl is worth this much and especially not this mudblood Granger."

Malfoy twisted uncomfortably on his seat.

"I know, I know. It just didn't feel right…" Malfoy stopped.

He didn't know what he was about to say… it didn't felt right to watch her bleed? Or maybe that she was defenseless? Either way, Malfoy didn't know where this sudden protectiveness over Hermione was coming from.

"DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT?"

Goyle was shouting again, interrupting Malfoy in his thoughts. It was weird though, Malfoy thought, to hear Goyle shouting. He usually wasn't much the talking kind actually. He must felt very empowered over the fact that Malfoy's family was in disgrace.

"Listen", Malfoy said, "she's not that bad without Potter and Weasley and… I don't know, men… Snape does is 'that bad'"

"She is a mudblood", said Crabbe severely.

The three boys were staring at Malfoy as he shrugged. Suddenly, Notts snorted.

"Wait 'til I tell that to Parkinson… you're a dead men, Malfoy!"

Malfoy sighed. Indeed he was.

"Are you okay?" asked Ginny in panic once they were all back in the compartment. "Was it Malfoy? I'm gonna go kick his little stupid ass", she added, half standing up.

Hermione hold her down.

"No", she said firmly.

"Then what happened?" asked Neville.

They both looked concern. Even Luna looked a little worried by all the blood on Hermione's face. Hermione took a deep breath.

"It was Goyle", she answered. "I was coming out of the bathroom and he was going back to his compartment and he cornered me. Then he punched me in the face."

Neville gasped and Ginny opened her mouth to interrupt her, but Hermione didn't stop.

"Then Notts, Crabbe and Malfoy showed up. Malfoy shouted 'What the hell are you going?' They got so surprised at him that it gave me time to raise and I spat in Goyle's face."

Neville and Ginny had a little cry of surprise.

"I'm surprise they let you go", said Ginny, impressed.

"They didn't want to", Hermione answered. "Except for Malfoy. And then you guys arrived."

Ginny still looked impressed, but Neville snorted.

"So he's the night in shining armor again?'

Hermione looked at him coldly.

"I don't know what he is, Neville, but a week ago he saved my life and until then he had done nothing but been good to me so calm down with Malfoy."

Neville looked as if she had just slapped him.

"I think you did great, Hermione", suddenly said Luna.

"Thanks Luna", answered Hermione.

She sank deeper into her bench and sighed. Both Neville and Ginny looked at her weirdly. The ride to Hogwarts was quiet after that. They only spoke again when they recognized the forbidden forest and they all dressed up in their Hogwarts's robes quickly.

"Thank God I was starving", said Ginny.

Hermione looked outside the window and stared at the castle.

"Everything is gonna be different this year."

Neville, Ginny and Luna stared at the castle as well. "Of course it will", said Ginny. "Hogwarts is ruled by You-Know-Who now."

They entered the Great Hall together. Hermione's eyes met Malfoy's, who was already sitting down at the slytherin table. He opened his mouth like to say something to her, but his eyes moved to the teachers's table and he dared not look at Hermione again. Hermione followed his look. Snape was looking at Malfoy with severity. He was sitting down in the head master's chair. Of course he was. At his left and right, were sitting two death eaters. Hermione closed her eyes. The Carrow siblings. She'd fought both of them last June. The truth hit Hermione in the face. It was no longer the Hogwarts she knew.

Luna was sitting beside Neville at the Gryffindor's table and Hermione felt relieved by her presence. After everything that was going on at Hogwarts and with Harry and Ron gone, Hermione was all in for being surrounded by as many allies and friends as possible.

With a sigh of relieve, she notices that every of her usual teachers were there as well. Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout exchanged a look when Snape stood up.

"It is a new gay in Hogwarts", Snape said in his dark and deep voice. "I expect obedience of you and if you disobey you shall not like the consequences. I hope this is clear enough."

He sat down and food appeared in their plates, but the Great Hall remained strangely quiet. Only at the slytherin's table some students appeared to be enjoying themselves. Only some, though. Hermione looked at Malfoy again and, as if he felt her eyes on him, Malfoy raised his head and their eyes locked. Hermione thought her expression might be a reflection of his as he looked alarmed and trying to cover it. He nod, like to reassure her, and got back at his plate.

Hermione's jaw still hurt, but she ate with her friends, barely daring to exchange a few alarmed glances with them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

By the end of the supper, everybody was feeling a bit more relaxed – fooled by the familiar décor – and the chatter was louder. When the plates were cleaned up, Hermione was about to tell the first years to follow her, but some obnoxious new guy – probably planted there by Snape or something (she did had ditch the prefect meeting in the train earlier) – had already took control of things. Hermione, annoyed, was about to follow Neville and Ginny in the stairs back to the Gryffindor's common room, when she heard a "pssssst!" Ginny heard it too and they both turned around. Malfoy tilt his head to the left and made it clear that he wanted her to follow him. Ginny rolled her eyes, but made not comments as she kept climbing the stairs. Hermione made her way through the wave of students going back the other way and finally joined Malfoy.

He grabbed her wrist and made her follow him into a darker corner. "Well, that's something", Hermione thought. If someone had told him only a few weeks ago that she'd be following Draco Malfoy in the darkest place of Hogwarts, she wouldn't have believe it.

Once they arrived in a place where Malfoy was sure they wouldn't be seen, he turned his face to her. He looked worried.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes wondering near her mouth which had been hit.

"I'm alright", she said.

To Hermione's grand surprise – and pleasure – Malfoy sighed in relief.

"Good", he said.

Suddenly, he frowned, looked at Hermione and shook his head. She wondered if he'd just realize how odd it was that he was concerned by his well-being.

He cleared his throat.

"Anyway", he said. "You heard Snape's speech? What's the loser's army's plan?"

Hermione frowned. Partly because he'd called Dumbledore a loser and partly because he made her suspicious.

"Why?" she asked, still frowning.

"Because", Malfoy said impatiently, "we must strike as quickly as we can. They all expect us to obey now. If we don't do anything, their power will only grow stronger."

Hermione crossed her arms, still slightly suspicious.

"What do you propose?" she asked.

He didn't hesitate.

"You know that Loony chick?"

"Luna!" Hermione corrected him with severity.

"Yeah, yeah, anyway, she was sitting at your table! And nobody said a thing about it. How about more and more people sitting at the same table? It shows unity amongst the houses and it's a subtle way of rebellion."

Hermione nodded.

"Clever", she commented. "But how can I be sure this is not some trap? How can I trust you?"

He didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"Trust my rage", he said finally.

The next morning, Hermione didn't tell Malfoy's plan just yet. She was not an idiot and she truly had not valuable reason to trust Malfoy. Ginny was still silently judging Hermione for going with Malfoy the night before so they mostly listened to Seamus's summer stories in silence.

The schedules were passed and Hermione and Neville groaned. First period, 'Dark Art with Amycus', the death eater, common with the slytherins.

"Well that's just great", Neville said, annoyed.

Ginny looked at his schedule and had a little laugh.

"Sucks to be you" she said before leaving for her first period.

Hermione and Neville exchanged a look and stood up.

They entered the class groaning again; they were late. The only places left were on the front row. They sat, exchanging a look. Suddenly, Malfoy arrived in class in a hurry. They both stared at each other, and then at the only place available left, next Hermione. Neville snorted when Malfoy sat down. Then Amycus walked in.

The class went silence. Most of the students looked scared, but Hermione saw a few slytherins exchanging a vicious smile.

"Drop the 'Defense', kid," Amycus said, "welcome in the Dark Arts class. As you all know, our dear dark lord has the power so you'd better get your mind straight; there is no such thing as good and evil. There is only power and those too weak to seek it."  
"That's not true!" said a voice behind Hermione.

They all turned to face him.

A slytherin.

Hermione's jaw dropped.

"You're a slytherin…" said Amycus, as surprised as Hermione.

"You're damn right I am", the slytherin answered.

"What's your blood statue?" The death eater asked.

The slytherin snorted.

"I'm half-blood."

"You see, I don't like to spill pure-blood's blood, but you… you're not only a shame to your own house, your blood is also full of filth. Let's see if I can clean it!"

Before anyone could do anything, Amycus raised his wand.

"Endoloris!"

"No!" yelled Hermione, but not loud enough to cover the scream of the slytherin boy who was twisting on the ground.

Amycus raised his wand and as he was about to cast the spell again, Hermione rose to stand between the slytherin and their teacher. Amycus raised his wand in surprise.

"Hermione Granger", he said, "or most famous mudblood… Endoloris!"

Hermione screamed. She had never felt that much pain. It was like every bit of her body was on fire and her bones were breaking over and over again.

Suddenly, from afar, she heard someone yelling "stop it!" Neville, she thought. But when she opened her eyes, it was Malfoy who was standing between her and Amycus. The whole class was so quiet, no one dared to breathe. Amycus looked like he was about to torture Malfoy as well, but instead he shouted: "OUT! ALL THREE OF YOU! OUT!"

He didn't need to say it twice. Malfoy and the slytherin guy were already helping Hermione get up. As they were leaving, Hermione glanced at Neville. He looked like he had been struck by lightning. Without another look back, the three unlikely allies left the class.

Once out, the slytherin boy turned to Hermione.

"Thank you", he said. He looked about to say something else, but Malfoy interrupted him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just go to the infirmary wing!"

For some reason he looked angry at the poor boy. Once he and Hermione were alone, Malfoy glanced furiously at her.

"Dammit, Granger!" he half-shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you? He could have killed you!"

"Yeah but he didn't."

"Because I stopped him!" Malfoy snapped. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"I'm not gonna achieve anything if I don't take any risks. And any way why do you care?"

Malfoy looked at her with disbelief.

"What?" he asked.

"Why do you care?!" Hermione exploded. "You despised me before! You were a real twat! What changed? Why do you care if I live or die?"

Malfoy looked at her with round eyes.

"You know what changed", Malfoy said. "Everything."

Hermione rubbed her eyes.

"Fine", she said. "I'll accept that excuse for the 'Why are you suddenly on our side' question. But why you care about me?"

They looked at each other without saying anything for a long while. Then suddenly Malfoy grabbed Hermione by the waist and kissed her. Hermione answered his kiss with just as much intensity. Malfoy pushed her against the wall, his head in her neck while Hermione moaned in his hair. They stopped to look at each other but before it had been 5 seconds, Hermione grabbed Draco's shirt to get him closer. His lips found hers and the universe exploded in Hermione's mouth.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapitre 8

"I kissed Hermione Granger" Malfoy thought. "I kissed Hermione Granger. Oh my god." To be completely honest, he enjoyed it very much. That's be a terrible time to run into Snape, he didn't think he could empty his mind to block his occlumency skills. Because he had kiss Hermione Granger. And it had been hot as hell. They had broken apart after five minutes of it (which had felt like seconds to Malfoy) because Hermione said she had to go. Maybe Neville and Ginny were waiting on her. Or maybe she wished she hadn't kissed him. He hoped not cause, damn, he wanted to kiss her again. It had been nothing like with Pansy. Thank goodness.

Malfoy blinked several times in a row. He had arrived at the slytherin common room. As he walked in, he heard Notts calling for him.

"Hey, Malfoy! What's with the stupid smile?"

"What? Nothing!"

Notts smirked.

"Well, you'd better keep that state of mind while you can; Amycus has put you on his blacklist."

"What about Snape?" Malfoy asked.

"Dunno", Notts answered. "Didn't ask. Don't think he cares though."

Malfoy nodded. Good… he guessed. But his mind was focused on something else. He had kissed Hermione Granger and was half sure he had dreamt the whole thing.

"Oh my god I have kissed Draco Malfoy". This thought had been in Hermione's mind and it was still bothering her as she walked in the Great Hall. "Maybe it was just some dream", she thought. Before sitting down at the Gryffindor's table, she looked for Malfoy. She found him. He winked at her.

"Nope. Not a dream."

"What did you say?" asked Neville.

"Nothing."

They sat in front on Ginny and Luna who were talking if what appeared to be an intense matter. When they sat down, Ginny turned to face them.

"Good, you're here! Luna and I were… is that an icky?"

"What?" said Neville, but Ginny was focused on Hermione's neck.

Hermione covered it with her hair.

"What?" She echoed Neville. "Of course not!"

Ginny still looked extremely suspicious.

"So", said Hermione, "what were you saying?"

"Right", said Ginny. "The whole school is talking about what happened between you and Malfoy this morning."

"WHAT?" Shouted Hermione.

"Oh my god, relax!" answered Ginny, obviously surprised by Hermione's outburst. "Most people are, like, super proud of you. I even heard two slytherins babbling about how you saved their honor or something – it was glorious to hear, let me tell you…"

"Right", said Hermione. For a second she thought Ginny was talking about the kiss – well, kisses – and had freaked out. "It was the right thing to do."

Neville had his face almost down to his plate.

"I'm sorry, Hermione", he said. "I should have done something. I mean, _Malfoy_ stepped in before I did! But they were using the _Doloris_ spell and I just…"

Luna patted his arm.

"You've got nothing to apologize for", said Hermione.

"I think what Malfoy did was really brave", said Luna, calmly.

They all stared at her. Finally Ginny spoke.

"Yeah… it was. There seems to be a lot of that going around lately in the slytherin ranks. First the guy Hermione stood for and then Malfoy… I mean, if even the slytherins are making a stand I think it's about damn time we do something."

Neville nodded thoughtfully. Hermione leaned forward.

"Yeah, I might have an idea…", she said.

Ginny, Neville, Luna and even Dean and Seamus, leaned forward as well.

"You know how about they don't seem to mind that Luna's here?" said Hermione with a head tilt in Luna's direction. "How about we push it? How about we invite as many members of Dumbledore's Army as we can at the gryffindor table? We show them that the houses are united in dividing them."

Dean and Seamus looked at each other. Dean pointed a finger at Hermione.

"I second that. Good plan."

"Thanks", answered Hermione. She hoped nobody would notice that she was blushing as it was not her plan, but Malfoy's.

"I think we also need a slogan", said a voice at their left. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were leaning in their direction as well.

"What do you mean?", asked Ginny.

"I mean", answered Lavender, her cheeks red from excitation, "something we can paint over the walls, something we can shot at their faces while they beat us! Something that'll say 'We're alive!', signed Dumbledore's army!"

Nobody spoke for a few seconds. Hermione was impressed by Lavender's idea and realized she hadn't given her enough credits.

"Hey I got one!" Said Seamus. "How about 'We live'?"

Hermione frowned.

"How about something a little bit more powerful?" she answered.

Parvati Patil raised her hand.

"I have an idea…"

Malfoy was heading out of Charm class when he saw that something was not quite right. There was a massive amount of people blocking something that was written on the wall. For a second, he thought about the Chamber of Secret, but then a couple of Hufflepuff moves and Draco was able to see. He stopped himself from laughing out loud. On the wall was written:

RESPECT EXISTANCE

OR EXPECT RESISTANCE

– DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY

hello! I did not invent the slogan! I found it on tumblr! keep sending reviews and following it motivates me to keep writing ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Draco and Hermione were in the dark corner where they first spoke their first day at Hogwarts, which was now a couple days ago. They hadn't crossed path since they had been making out in the corridor (Draco suspected it was not an accident). They were finally meeting up the first Saturday since the school started after Hermione had discreetly passed a paper to Malfoy in Dark Arts class. Things were getting worse at Hogwarts and since the Slytherin outburst they weren't allowed to talk anymore in any class given by the Carrow siblings (which is why Hermione had to pass Malfoy a note).

"So what is it that you wanna talk about?" Malfoy asked with a smirk. "Or maybe you don't wanna talk? Cause I remember the last time we were alone in a corridor…"

"I wanted to thank you", interrupted Hermione, her arms crossed and a serious expression on her face.

"For the last time we were in the corridor?" asked Malfoy with fake naivety. "Cause the pleasure was all mine…"

"No", interrupted Hermione again. Her cheeks were red. "For the idea."

"Oh, yeah", Malfoy answered. "I've seen Snape and the Carrows exchanging glances over all these Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw at your table. You're welcome."

Hermione's eyes wondered near Malfoy's mouth and he had another smirk.

"Oh and I wanted to congratulate you", Malfoy continued.

"On the last time we were in a deserted corridor?" Hermione asked, now smirking too.

Malfoy laughed and took a step forward, closer to Hermione.

"Well, that too", he answered. "But I was thinking about those messages on the wall."

He meant it.

There had been two more messages since the first one. THE MORE THEY OPRESS US THE HARDER WE FIGHT and CONQUER BY DIVIDING THEM, both were signed with their newly found slogan and 'Dumbledore's Army'.

"Yeah about that", Hermione said. "Did you hear anything the Carrows? Or Snape? Or even You-Know-Who?"

Malfoy shook his head.

"I'm on the Carrows black list since what happened in our first Dark Arts class, I haven't seen Snape nor talked to him and my mother sent me a letter last Thursday saying that I was an idiot and that was it."

Hermione looked disappointed. Malfoy took another step forward and put his hands on her arms.

"I'm sorry", he whispered, leaning forward.

Hermione put a hand on his chest.

"Don't", she whispered, though her eyes were fixed on Malfoy's lips.

"Why?" he asked softly, his finger playing in her hairs.

"I still don't trust you", Hermione answered.

Her hand was still on his chest but she lowered it slowly to feel Malfoy's muscle.

"Right now you don't have to trust me", he said, their lips barely a centimeter away, "just to kiss me."

It was enough for Hermione. She ceased his shirt with the hand that was already on it and pulled him closer. Their lips collided with intensity, tasting each other before they opened their mouth. They were against the wall and again, Malfoy lift Hermione, her legs around his waist. Hermione's hands were around his neck and she pulled him closer as if she wanted their body to melt into each other.

They stopped to breath and Malfoy dropped Hermione on the floor, his hands leaving his ass to explore under her shirt. Hermione unbuttoned the top of Malfoy's shirt and she kissed his chest. Draco cupped her face as he start kissing her again.

For some reason, Malfoy had never felt so happy.

When they finally drew apart, their lips as red as their cheeks, Malfoy's hands were on Hermione's hips and she had put her head on his chest.

"I need to stop doing that", she said, almost to herself.

"Please, don't", Malfoy said with a smirk.

Hermione had a little laugh before forcing herself to take a few steps back.

"You were bad", Hermione said, avoiding to look at him. "Borderline evil. You did all those terrible things, you were a real ass to me for the past six years – and to my friends! I just… I don't know how I can trust you."

She still wouldn't meet his eyes so Malfoy grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

"I know, and I'm sorry", he answered. "I was raised in a way that now almost feels like a brainwash. Last June, on that rooftop… I was never gonna do it. Seeing all those blood thirsty death eaters… and all the pressure I was under last year… I just… I don't wanna be that person anymore. I want to be a better man, a better person. And somehow, I feel like you're the way to redemption."

Hermione took a few steps back, not trusting herself being that close to Malfoy.

"But are you willing to make a stand?" Hermione asked. She had been moved by his words, but it was gonna take more than that for her to start trusting him. "You say that the Carrow and Snape already don't trust you. If that's true you can't be much of a double-agent. How about tomorrow you sit at the Gryffindor table?"

Malfoy snorted.

"Are you kidding? Weasley and Longbottom would assassinate me!"

Hermione grabbed his shoulders.

"I'll make sure they don't. If you're serious about redemption, Malfoy, I expect to see you tomorrow morning, at the Gryffindor table."


	10. Chapter 10

"Hermione, this is nonsense."

Neville's tone was categorical and his face was close. Ginny was next to him playing with Arnold. She looked less mad than Neville, but her lips were pinched. The rest of the Gryffindor's branch of Dumbledore's Army were muttering their opinions to each other. Most agreed with Neville.

Hermione slammed her hand onto the table next to her. They all jumped, startled by her unexpected reaction.

"It doesn't matter whether it's nonsense or not!" She said bitterly, tired of this fight. For her, what to do was crystal clear and she didn't understand why they were still arguing about that. "The fact is that Malfoy sitting at our table would be the biggest 'screw you' of all and I can't believe you're willing to pass on that opportunity!"

"Hermione we're talking about Malfoy!" Neville shouted. "Dumbledore died because of him!"

"And Snape killed him", Hermione snapped back, "but if he wanted to sit at the Gryffindor table and took a stand against Voldemort I'd gladly let him!"

Neville's eyes widened.

"You can't be serious."

"Desperate time call for desperate measures", Hermione said, coldly.

There was a long silence.

"She's right", finally said Ginny.

As one man, they all turned their head to her.

"What?" Neville said.

"As Hermione said, our little messages piss them off but it's not concretely changing anything", Ginny said. "We really want to show them that we're fighting back, that we're not giving up. And having Malfoy on our side…", she took a dramatic pause, starring at every one, "is the best thing that could have happened to us."

Hermione smiled. Her eyes met Ginny's and they exchanged a satisfied smile. The rest of Dumbledore's Army started to nod slowly and they went their separate ways, commenting what just happened.

Soon, Hermione was left with only Neville and Ginny. Neville had been quiet since his first intervention (Hermione assumed he was pouting), but he rose his head once they were alone.

"How did this happen? I mean why would you go talk to him and ask him to sit at our table? How did you know he was on our side?"

Ginny looked at the floor awkwardly, as if she knew. Hermione took a deep breath and tried to talk in a casual voice.

"He saved my life this summer."

"Yeah, but that's different", Neville said. He was shaking with anger. There was a silence and then Neville looked at Ginny. "They're fucking aren't they?"

Hermione felt as if he had slapped her. Ginny shrugged, rose on her feet, and left Hermione alone with Neville.

Neville took her departure as a confession of guilt and put his head in his hand.

"It's not what you think", Hermione said in a little voice. It was none of their business indeed, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling guilty. "I never slept with him." Somehow she felt like it was an important thing to say.

Neville snorted and raised his head, but he did not look at her.

"You've got to be kidding me", he muttered, almost to himself. "What are you doing?" He closed his eyes. "You deserve better."

Hermione felt as if she was about to cry. She stood up and walked away from Neville, thinking about the next morning with apprehension.

Malfoy had not spoken to anyone the entire evening. Of course it didn't change much from usually because Crabbe, Goyle and Nott were barely talking to him anymore. That was suiting anyway cause he spent most of his evening thinking about Hermione. Tonight especially since he was suppose to sit at the Gryffindor table the morning after.

He rolled over in his bed, staring at the ceiling. A part of him thought it was worth it only because it would allow him to make out with Hermione again, but then the other part would mentally slap him and remind him of the consequences this would have on him and his family. He didn't want his mother to die because of him. But he did want to make a stand.

He sighed and thought he'd figure out what to do the next morning.

The next morning, the tension was at its peek at the Gryffindor's table. Even the students who weren't part of the Dumbledore's Army seemed to understand something was about to happen. Hermione was sitting beside Ginny and she kept looking at the Great Hall's door. Neville, in front of her, would do the same, but with anger in his look, as if he was challenging Malfoy every time he would stare at the door.

Hermione was still mad at him because of what happened the night before and she wished he would stop. She was afraid Malfoy would react badly to Neville's glare.

As she thought that, Malfoy walked in the Great Hall. Hermione raised her head with hope, but Neville frowned so angrily, his eyebrows met. Ginny was looking intensely at her plate, but the rest of Dumbledore's Army were staring at Malfoy with curiosity. The rest of the Gryffindor started slowly to look at Malfoy as well. Half the Great Hall were looking at Malfoy when his eyes met Hermione's. They exchanged a look and Malfoy sighed. He walked past the Slytherin table and in front of the eyes of hundreds of students and teachers, he sat beside Hermione and took her hand under the table.


End file.
